Midnight Ride
by Wolf of the Light
Summary: Caroline is new to the state of Washington, sent ahead of her family to check out the area where they would be living soon. As she was strolling the streets of Port Angeles she is almost attacked by a vampire named Dominic. Bella and Edward are included.
1. Forks, Washington

**A/N**: Ohhh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I never thought in a million years I would upload this. Holy crap, I can't believe it.

Okay, okay, calm down. First things first:

(1) This is my first Twilight fic, so before anyone can bite my head off, yes I have OCs, yes I know there's a lot of them, but bear with me, and yes this story is centered around my main OC. BUT, it does and will include a lot of Bella and the Cullens, I swear I will try to include them as much as I can in this story.

(2) This is one of my older WIPs, so I'm sorry if it takes me a little while to post any other chapters after this one, I kinda stopped in the middle of the second chapter about, oh I dunno, two or three years ago and I haven't written any since? Whoopsie.

But anyway, I will try to upload more chapters, but no guarantees XD On with the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything, I have just read the book Twilight by Stephenie Meyer seven times. I regret nothing by writing this XD**

* * *

Have you ever had your parents egg you to go to check out a town near where you were going to move, or something like that? If you haven't, then you need to meet my parents. Every time I get a long break from school, they always urge me to go someplace near our new town, like Seattle or Los Angeles. But man, when they say things like, "It'll be good for a kid your age," and "Go on and have fun. We'll be here when you get back," it's hard to resist. So, one time I finally gave in when a pipeline under my school in Arizona burst, sending the school into a panic, so I took a few days off to take a trip to Port Angeles where I actually had the time of my life. But, also the turn of my life.

See, I was walking down a semi-crowded street when I got pulled into an alley. When I looked up at my assailant, I saw that his light brown hair was disheveled and all over the place, like he hadn't brushed it in a while. He was stone pale, his dark golden eyes, that were steadily turning black to my surprise, wide and wild. That's what caught me off guard. The color of his irises that was so different from my boring grey eyes that they intrigued me for some reason. I stared into them, but backed up until I was up against the cold alley wall, never once moving my gaze from them for a second, like my life depended on it, which it actually did, but I didn't know that at the time till it was explained to me later.

So there I was, pressed against the chilly wall, this unknown boy staring me dead in the face, this hungry expression on his own. He took a step toward me but I had nowhere to go. I just looked around me, trying to find something that would protect me from this stranger. When he lunged, I ducked and cowered on the ground, my hands covering my face and my eyes shut tight. When I didn't feel him crash into me, I peeked through my hands, like I was watching a horror movie and the killer had just walked in, and saw that the boy had frozen where he had landed in front of me. He seemed to be trying to control himself or some other thing, because his face was twisted with agony and his eyes shut tight, like mine had been only moments ago. He was taking deep breaths and I tried to take advantage of the situation and slither away back into the streets of Seattle, but his eyes opened before I could take one step. A small smile formed on his face as he looked at me, still crouched on the ground. He held out his hand to me, that smile still on his face. I warily reached for it and he grabbed my hand, gently pulling me to my feet. As soon as he released my hand, I pulled it to my side, my hand feeling like it was burning where his skin touched mine. His hands were ice cold, making them feel like they were really hot to my touch.

I stared at him. He looked about my age, seventeen or so.

It looked like he was trying to make his hair stay flat, but it wasn't cooperating with him. It just kept sticking back up and I had to cover my mouth to muffle my giggles at the sight of him. He looked up at me, pausing from his work, and smiled that small smile again. Soon, I was laughing my heart out in front of the boy who was just attacking me. He didn't turn red like most boys would do, he just stood there. When I was able to stop my continuous giggles, I managed to get a better look at him. Like I'd already said, he had ashy brown hair that barely grazed the top of his ears. I looked down at his eyes again and saw that he was staring intently at me. I blushed and looked away.

"Sorry about that," he said. "Sometimes it's hard to control myself around others." I looked back up at him and saw that his eyes were full of pure curiosity now. "I get a little carried away around people, but not like this. Who are you?"

I eyed him one more time before answering. "Caroline. How about you?"

"The name's Dominic. I'm here to check out Port Angeles with some friends to get away from town."

"What town?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Forks."

_Forks_? I thought.

I'd heard that Forks, Washington was cloudy almost everyday and was raining just about twenty-four seven. It was also cold there a lot, but sometimes it got up in the sixties, sometimes even the seventies. I absolutely detest the cold. I've never gone there, but I had heard from some long time friends that it was green almost everywhere: green grass, green moss on the trees and rocks, just about anywhere you looked there was more green. Even inside there were plants that were teeming with life. As if there wasn't enough green outside. And green's my least favorite color, too. That's how my life was going to be once we moved into our new house: full of green. If my parents put even one little fern inside the house, I was going to kill somebody.

I wrinkled my nose at the thought. He laughed at my expression.

"It's not that bad." He smiled.

"I bet it's not, but still," I mumbled, turning red and looking away from his glorious smile.

He laughed again, then caught me off guard. "Why don't you come with us back to town for a few days? To see if you like it, I mean. I could even get you a place to stay for a while. But, hey, it's your choice." He shrugged.

I thought about it, seeing that I would need to go sooner or later. "Sure." I shrugged. "Why not? I'm moving into a new house in a few weeks anyway. I might as well get used to the town."

His eyes brightened at the thought for some reason.

"Great. Meet me in an hour at the edge of town where there's a trail that leads into the woods. See ya." He dashed off into the crowd and I stared after him. I shook my head and followed slowly back into the bright streets of Port Angeles.

0 0 0 0 0

Half an hour later I was wandering the streets on my own, looking around, enjoying the scene. But I kept a watchful eye out in case someone like Dominic popped out and tried to kidnap me. When I started to get hungry I walked around until I found a restaurant. It was small and quiet, and it was a place where some friends of mine worked. When I walked in, I saw a hostess with unnaturally blond hair. She looked up, saying, "Welcome to La Bella Italia," immediately recognizing me. "Oh my gosh, if it isn't Melody!" Melody was my birth name, but it was something easy for the guys at school to pick on, so I changed it to Caroline. I'd told her time and time again that my name was Caroline now, but she didn't cooperate, she just continued to call me Melody like my parents and siblings did. I'd given up on trying to get her to call me Caroline, so I just went along with her. She ran up to me and gave me a hug. She pulled back to look at me and said, "My, oh my, girl, you went and got your hair cut again."

I brushed my short strawberry-blond hair behind an ear. "Yeah, well, I wasn't really liking it long. The boys at school kept picking at me for it. They don't treat me like they did when you were still in school, Maxie."

Maxie had graduated the year before, leaving my sister Amber and me behind, and with only Amber there to protect me, I got picked on even more since Maxie had graduated. But since Amber had dropped out, I had been even lonelier, being the sort of outcast since I had fair skin and couldn't get a very good tan, meaning I stood out, even when I didn't want to. Maxie came as a guest sometimes when she was off on vacation to where she could travel from Washington to Arizona, meaning I had at least one bodyguard instead of none, leaving the boys with two choices: Leave me alone, or get their asses kicked. But I had a few friends who stuck up for me, even though the kids called me the albino of the school.

Maxie rolled her eyes. "Figures. Boys these days just don't know how to show they like a girl, even in high school."

Now I rolled my eyes. "Puh-lease, Maxie. Like any guy would like me that way."

Maxie smiled. "Oh, you know that's not true, Melody. Lots of boys like you, they just don't show it. Wait a while and see what happens. If one of them asks you out, good for you. If not, well–" she grinned wickedly "–they'll have to answer to me and Amber, won't they?"

I laughed. Maxie always knew how to cheer me up, even if my sister was out here working instead of back home in Arizona where Mom and Dad missed her after she had dropped out.

"So, what brings you to Port Angeles, Melody? Did your parents finally convince you to go sightseeing?"

I ran my fingers through my hair, sighing. "Yeah, they finally did it. I bet that when I head back next week they'll be gone on a cruise." I rolled my eyes. "It's so typical of them, telling me to go some place to enjoy myself when school's out for like a week with a broken pipe, and when I come home after a crappy time they're gone for a week or more."

Maxie shook her head. "That is pitiful. Here, why don't you sit down and get something to eat. I bet you're hungry, right?"

My stomach rumbled in response. Maxie grinned and showed me to a table near the back, since she knew I didn't like the front or middle. The place wasn't that crowded, except in the center of the restaurant, with only a few people here and there. I slid into the booth Maxie led me to and looked at the menu she handed me, heading back toward the front when she saw the door open. I followed her with my eyes to see her greet a pale boy, his skin as light as Dominic's, with bronze hair and a brunette around my age, who was also pale, like me. When Maxie showed them a table in the middle of the floor, the boy shook his head as his female companion started to sit down. Then he seemed to slip Maxie some cash and say something that made her start walking in my direction. Before she started walking, she shot me a look that said, _Get out of sight, quick!_ I obliged and hid under my table, out of view I hoped, my purse and bag filled with the stuff I would need on this trip – clothes, socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc – behind my head, uncomfortably I might add. Maxie and the couple passed by my table without a glance, settling into the booth across from mine.

"How's this?" I heard Maxie ask.

"Perfect," the boy said. I saw him smile at Maxie, dazing her.

"Um." She shook her head, blinking. "Your server will be right out." She walked away unsteadily. I snickered as she passed, making her glare down at me.

"You really shouldn't do that to people," the girl criticized. "It's hardly fair."

"Do what?"

"Dazzle them like that. She's probably hyperventilating in the kitchen right now."

Knowing Maxie, the girl was probably right. The boy seemed confused.

"Oh, come on," she said. "You _have _to know the effect you have on people."

He tilted his head to one side, and his eyes were curious. "I dazzle people?"

"You haven't noticed? Do you think everybody gets their way so easily?"

He ignored her questions. "Do I dazzle _you_?"

I laughed to myself quietly as she admitted, "Frequently."

I looked up when I heard footsteps and saw my sister Amber walk toward their table, her face expectant. Looks like Maxie had told Amber about this mysterious boy that sat across from the ordinary-looking girl. Amber pushed her dark hair behind one ear and smiled. Looked like she was trying to impress the boy with her beauty, which, from any boy's eye, was marvelous compared to mine. I grinned and pulled out my phone silently, pulling up the recorder, hitting Record, and holding it toward them.

They talked about what had apparently happened earlier, either in the day or week, I wasn't sure, but she sounded really grateful to him. His demeanor was cold and distant, and I couldn't help but stare at his expressionless face. Until she talked about almost getting hit by a van, I had just sat there, watching in fascination.

_Wow_, I thought. _He really did save her from a life or death situation. But I wonder what the first time was?_

I didn't really want to find out, but as his emotions seemed to thaw, his poker face started to soften. His hands under the table, he leaned toward her, speaking in a rush, so fast I could barely catch anything, just snippets: " ... catastrophes ... ordinary people ... specific person alive ...," and her answer, hushed, "... number was up ... van ... fate?"

I wondered what they meant, then when I heard his answer, my body went cold. He spoke so softly it was hard to hear him, and Bella and I stared at him in amazement.

Bella started to shake, and her eyes seemed far away, probably to a place in her mind. They talked some more, about her still being able to sit there, and I screamed in my head, wanting to know what they were talking about. I pinched my cheeks and pulled, trying to calm down and listen. He glanced down at her plate, saying that if she ate, he'd talk. I watched as she quickly scooped up another ravioli and stuck it in her mouth.

He talked about it being difficult to track her, about mind reading. He glanced up at her, and I realized she had frozen. She swallowed the ravioli, then stabbed another one and tossed it in. He went on about keeping tags on a girl name Jessica and Port Angeles, and how he had become anxious when he couldn't find any trace of her. When he got to a part about almost getting out of his car to search when he suddenly stopped, clenching his teeth in sudden fury, making me cringe against the bench. He made no effort to calm himself.

But Bella showed now fear. She asked what happened next. He stared over her head as he continued. He mentioned something about seeing her face in someone's mind, the look of rage on his face terrifying. He suddenly leaned forward, one elbow appearing on the table, his hand covering his eyes, the movement so swift it startled both Bella and me.

Things continued on this subject for several minutes, the boy admitting to her how hard it was not to look for whoever he was talking about moments ago. When he finished, Bella sat quietly, like in a daze. She leaned weakly against the back of the seat. He still had his face in his hands, so still it was like he was stone.

When he finally looked up, he searched her face, eyes filled with his own questions. He asked if she was ready to go home, and she said she was ready to leave. I noticed how she had dodged his question.

Amber appeared as if she'd been called. Or watching.

"How are we doing?" she asked the boy.

"We're ready for the check, thank you." His voice was different, strained, and it struck her off guard. He glanced up at her when she hesitated.

"S-sure," she stuttered. "Here you go." She pulled a small leather folder from the front pocket of her black apron and handed it to him.

There was a bill in his hand already. He slipped it into the folder and handed it right back to her.

"No change." He smiled. Then he stood up, and the girl scrambled awkwardly to her feet.

Amber smiled invitingly at him again. "You have a nice evening."

He didn't look away from the girl as he thanked Amber. I saw the girl trying not to smile.

He walked close beside her to the door, but not touching her. As they walked out the door, I crawled out from under the table and let out a low whistle, stopping the recording. "Wow," I said, startling my sister. "That wasn't half bad, considering I was under that table for about twenty minutes. And I'm starving. Can I eat now?"

Amber stared at me, letting a slow smile spread across her face.

"God, little sister, I've forgotten how much of a sneak you could be. Now get your butt over here and give your sister a hug."

I smiled and jumped into my sister's open arms, glad to be able to move after being crammed under that table for twenty minutes. But if I wanted to get to the meeting place with Dominic, I had to eat quick, but that was only if I wanted to go. I was still deciding, but my complaining stomach made up its mind, grumbling loudly. Amber and I laughed. She told me to sit down and went to get me something to eat, so I obeyed and looked over the menu needlessly, since Amber knew what I liked. She sat down in my booth, talking to me while I ate.

Twenty minutes later I was saying goodbye to Amber and Maxie and heading out the door, stomach full, doggy bag in my purse filled with some of the leftovers I didn't eat, since my stomach decided it was full after only a few mouthfuls of mushroom ravioli, just like Bella had eaten. Amber had offered me a ride since she got off in about twenty minutes, but I declined. If she saw where I was going, she might call Mom and Dad, which might have gotten me in loads of trouble since I was meeting a boy I knew nothing about and was meeting him in a dark place outside of town. That would be major grounding material. So I headed north, the only way I knew out of town.

The streets were lit brightly as I ran along shop windows, trying to get out of town quickly. Both bags I was carrying were flying behind me as I ran, hitting the soles of my sneakers. Soon I had made it to a grassy area, trees lining the pavement behind me. I looked around, but didn't see Dominic. I fell to my knees, gasping for breath. I punched the ground, frustrated with myself. I had just ran a twenty minute walk in less than fifteen, and my lungs were screaming for air. I fell on my side and stared up at the sky. I didn't hear footsteps, but suddenly there was a shadow standing above me. I screamed and rolled away, scrambling to my feet, looking up to see Dominic. He grinned as he watched me keep myself from hyperventilating, one hand over my heart, the other on my knee as I leaned forward.

"My God, Dominic! You scared the crap out of me!"

He laughed walking the short distance over to me. He leaned down to my eye level and smiled.

"Miss me?" he teased.

I frowned as I gasped for air, and lashed out at him. He straightened so fast that my hand flew past him, causing me to stumble forward toward him. He caught me before I fell flat on my face. I pulled away without thanking him. He just continued to smile.

"You ready to go?" he asked me cheerily.

I looked up at him, readjusting the strap of my purse around my shoulder, then looked around us, seeing nobody.

"Hey, you said you were here with friends, right?"

He nodded.

"Then where are they?"

"Oh, they left about half an hour ago. But are you ready to go?" he repeated.

"Yeah. You said we're going to Forks, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Isn't that like an hour's drive from here?"

He grinned. "Maybe. If you go the speed limit, that is."

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

He held out a gloved hand. "You'll see."

I eyed him suspiciously, but took his hand. He pulled me through the trees, helping me over rocks and roots, pushing aside branches and letting me go first, like a gentleman would. After what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes, we came to a small clearing, and in the middle sat a shiny red Harley Davidson. I stared in amazement at the bike. Dominic grinned at my expression, walking over and swinging his leg over it.

"Come on," he said. "Get on."

I blinked, then bit my lip, trying to think of an excuse not to get on the back of the bike. "Um . . . I don't have a jacket."

He frowned, pulling his off. I hadn't even realized what he was wearing, but I didn't have time to find out since he threw the jacket at me. It was navy blue with cotton lining on the inside. I pulled it on, feeling how cold it was, like my clothes had been this morning when I pulled them out of my dresser. I shivered and pushed the too-long sleeves back so my hands were through. I walked unsteadily over to the bike, taking each step with deliberate slowness, since each one got me closer to the shining motorcycle.

Dominic leaned an elbow on the handlebars, waiting. He seemed to become impatient, since he began tapping his fingers on the body of the bike, a frown on his face. This made me smile, but I didn't speed up.

Once I'd finally made it over to him, he pulled a helmet off the back of the seat, holding it out to me.

"Get on," he repeated.

I stood there, staring at the shiny exterior of the helmet. Dominic looked up at me expectantly, waiting. I sighed and pulled the helmet over my hair, then climbed on behind Dominic, who had pulled his helmet on while I had hesitated.

He started the bike, the engine roaring to life, making me jump and hold on to Dominic tightly, my hands gripping his shirt and my eyes closed.

He looked back at me and smiled.

"Hang on," he said over the roar of the engine.

We started moving, slowly at first, then gained some speed as we went along. I bounced lightly on the back of the motorcycle, but when we reached the road, I could hardly tell we were moving. I didn't dare open my eyes, though. I was too terrified. The only way I knew we were in motion was the sound of the engine as we rode along the freeway that headed in the direction of Forks.

0 0 0 0 0

I must have fallen asleep, which was a bad thing when you're on the back of a moving motorcycle, because the next thing I knew we were stopped. I looked up wearily, the helmet heavy on my head. Dominic got off the bike and kept me from falling forward. He took the helmet off for me, shaking out my sweaty hair with his hand. I peered up at him curiously. He just smiled, setting both of our helmets on the handlebars. He held out his hand, and I grabbed it, jumping off the bike, my legs wobbly after the ride. I was never getting on another motorcycle again.

Dominic kept me standing, a hand at my elbow and at my waist. I pulled my hand through my hair, trying to wake up. I shook my head and the fog inside cleared. I looked around at my surroundings and saw that we were in a small neighborhood. I looked behind me and saw that we were standing in front of a small white two-story house, a police cruiser and an old truck sitting in the driveway. The curtains that covered a second story window were drawn together, but I could see the silhouette of a person against the light. The shadow disappeared, the light shutting off. I looked at Dominic, puzzled; he smiled in return.

"Come on," he said. "I want you to meet Bella."

My feet were rooted to the ground as Dominic started walking toward the front door. It took him a few moments to realize I wasn't following, and when he did, he backtracked, coming to stand beside me.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly.

I shook my head, eyes on the ground. I seemed to have lost my voice at this point, unable to answer his worried question. Then suddenly the world seemed to flip upside down for a moment. I looked up and the ground righted itself beneath me. Dominic had literally swept me off my feet.

I stared at him, bewildered, then snapped back to reality. I struggled hard against his grip as he walked, but my struggles were in vain. His grip was like iron, stronger than metal chains. His arms didn't even move as I squirmed, pushing against his hard chest and kicking my legs, my foot sometimes connecting with his leg, not even making him flinch with pain. I would have screamed, but I didn't want to wake the neighbors.

By the time we had made it to the door, I had tired myself out after thrashing in Dominic's arms, so instead of resisting, I settled for resting my head against his chest, which he didn't seem to mind.

But there was something wrong.

Yes, I could hear him breathing, but I couldn't hear his heart beating. I froze in his arms, but he didn't seem to notice. Before he could knock on the door – even though he was still holding me with both arms – it flung open before his hand could touch the dark wood. Standing before us was the girl that I had seen in the restaurant less than an hour before, but her hair was wet from taking a shower, probably from before we even arrived, and she had on a pair of sweats and an old T-shirt that had holes in random places around the front. She moved aside, motioning for us to come in. Dominic walked passed her and over to a set of stairs, taking them two at a time, but making sure his feet didn't make too much noise as we climbed. Bella closed the door and hurried up after us. I could hear snoring coming from a closed door that we passed. I figured her father was asleep by now, seeing that it was in the middle of the night. Bella ushered us into a room on the end of the short hallway, shutting the door softly behind us. She let out a long breath, one she had probably been holding since she'd let us in, and slid to the floor.

"Okay," she said. "I really don't want to do that again."

Dominic grinned down at her.

"What's wrong, Bella? Don't you like the thrill of danger?"

Bella glared up at him. "Not when it's my dad, Dominic. If you want to, you can go deal with him instead if he wakes up to find me sneaking two people into my bedroom at ten o' clock at night. See how much fun it is then."

Dominic just laughed softly, the sound reverberating in his chest, but nothing else. I swallowed, trying to keep my mouth shut. Then Dominic set me on my feet, still a little wobbly after riding the motorcycle and falling asleep.

"Well, Bella, I'd like you to meet someone. Caroline, this is Isabella Swan, Bella for short. And Bella, this is Caroline Anton. I met her tonight and she said she was in town to check out the place, since she'd be moving soon to Forks, probably near here, even."

I looked up at him skeptically as I shook hands with Bella, saying, "You'd only hope of that, Dominic. I'm not sure where we would move. I don't even know when we're going to move. I only know what the house looks like. It's kinda small, with white shutters around the front windows, light blue, and two bedrooms, but only one bath." I shivered at the thought of having to share one bathroom with both my parents and three out of my five siblings.

Dominic and Bella looked at each other.

"That's the house across the street," said Bella.

I stared, bug-eyed, at her.

"Here, come look." She got off the floor, crossing the room over to the window, pulling back the curtains, saying, "See? That house right there."

I came up beside her, putting one hand on the glass and peering across the street at the house. It had white shutters, just like I had described, and was small and light blue, with a FOR SALE sign staked into the ground in the small front yard, SOLD stamped over it.

"No way," I breathed, my breath showing on the window's glass as frozen condensation.

I stepped away from the window, running a hand through my hair. I pulled out my cell phone, going through my contacts until I found the right number. It didn't matter what time it was, I knew she would answer sooner or later. I hit the dial button, waiting for the call to go through, then put my phone to my ear, listening to the ringing of the dial tone. But I got the voicemail and I left a message: "Hey, Tam. Tell Elisa and Geoff I think I just found our new home."

Tammie was my younger sister by two years, but she skipped a grade, meaning she was a freshman. She was small for her age, and so were her some of her friends, which got them picked on a lot by the seniors and some of the juniors. I stayed out of it, only stepping in when things got rough for her and some friends that dared to stand up to the older kids. The seniors would step down easily though, giving me a sort of victory, but only until they started again in a few weeks, sometimes even a few days. But when I told our parents about it, they told me that Tammie needed to learn to defend herself. But one day, things got out of hand.

You see, Tammie doesn't hang out with the most popular group of kids, but the most _un_popular kids, like Goths and self-proclaimed emo freshman, sophomores, and juniors even. She'd even dyed her hair black, trying to fit in, but her darker skin stood out among the paler kids, since she liked to get a tan so she wouldn't get picked on for her looks. She was actually pretty, once you got past the four earrings in each ear, the dark makeup, and the black hair, which really showed off her bright blue eyes, let me tell you.

But, one day, a senior started to get mouthy with Tammie, getting her really mad. She was about to hit him, but one of her friends managed to stop her in time. The senior just laughed at her, his friends cheering him on. I just came out of the Chorus Room with my best friend Robert with sheet music that we would need later in the hallway that the seniors had cornered Tammie and her friends in and saw everything. We hid in the doorway, since there was about a foot of wall between the wide hallway and the door, out of sight. The senior reached out, pinning her arms against the wall behind her and getting his face really close to her, like he was going to kiss her. I think that was his plan, too, but Tammie moved her head just in time that the senior smacked his nose against the stone wall. Robert bristled at the sight. He thought of Tammie as a little sister, since I had been friends with him since we were kids and he came over a lot.

After the senior pulled back, he took his hands off Tammie, rubbing his sore nose, glaring daggers at her. She managed to squeeze past the jerk's friends and over to hers who welcomed her with hugs. They may have been Goth-y and expressionless most of the time, but that didn't mean they didn't loved her.

The senior looked at the small group, then snapped his fingers. His groupies surrounded the small group of friends, each grabbing one girl or guy, leaving two seniors empty-handed. These two grabbed Tammie, dragging her over to the senior who had just tried to kiss her, planting her in front of him, each holding one arm. Of course she struggled, but these guys were five years older than her, and stronger I might add. Just by looking at their lettermen jackets, I could tell they were on the basketball team. But they weren't going to be for long.

I pulled on Robert's sleeve, whispering, "Go get the principal and some teachers, quick. This could get ugly."

He didn't argue. He took off like a bullet, trying not to make too much noise as he escaped. But on one step, his sneakers squeaked loudly as his foot landed on the linoleum wrong, making him stumble, but he regained his balance and continued to run, looking back to shoot and apologizing look at me. I smacked myself in the forehead, not even trying to hide when the seniors looked my way.

The senior in charge – by the name on his letterman I saw that he was called Gregory – made his way around my sister and up the hallway to me, which wasn't very far since it was a short hallway, with only two classrooms and bathrooms between us. I backed up but only hit the wall in front of the double doors. The Chorus doors were locked now, the keys in my hand, but I was too terrified to use them to retreat into the classroom. Gregory finally made it to me, trapping me between himself and the Chorus doors.

"Now where do you think you're going, cutie?" he asked in an obnoxious voice. He may have been cute, but he didn't sound it.

He put his hands on either side of my head, leaning so close I could smell his breath. It smelled like cherries, which I was allergic to, so I covered my mouth, my eyes watering at the scent. Gregory raised an eyebrow at my reaction, then smirked.

"What's the matter, hon? Don't like cherries?"

I felt a tickle in the back of my throat, meaning either I make a run for the restroom, or this senior was going to get messy soon. So I took my chance and pushed past him, actually managing to make it to the restroom without trouble. The guy didn't even try to follow. Guess he didn't want to see what I was doing. That was actually smart of him.

Before I was even out of the restroom I could hear laughter. I didn't know if they were laughing at me, but I heard Gregory say, "Shut up, Harold!" So that meant they were laughing at him. I washed my hands and rinsed my mouth quickly, racing out of the restroom, only to run into Gregory. I stumbled backwards, but didn't fall. I looked up at him standing there, like he was in charge of every thing. Man, I hoped that Robert had gotten the principal and was on his way right now.

I thought through some ways to get him out of the way, up until he started coming into the restroom, so I had to think fast. I decided on kicking him in the stomach, so I jumped and sent my foot straight into his abdomen, knocking the breath out of him for the moment. He staggered back into the hallway, and I took the chance to run past him and down toward his group of friends.

"Hey," I shouted at them. "Let them go right now."

"Or what?" demanded one guy – I think it was the boy Gregory yelled at. Harold, wasn't it?

I gritted my teeth and jumped forward, letting my momentum carry me and my foot connected with the closest senior's jaw, his hands releasing the girl he had grabbed. I landed on the floor gracefully, thankful I had taken ballet young, even though I had hated it and dropped out after only two years of lessons.

"_That's_ what's going to happen if you don't cooperate." I stood up, helping the girl stand. "Are you all right?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Good. Now run and find Robert McClain. You know who he is right?"

Another nod.

"Okay. Now go find him. Just run as fast as you can, got it? Don't even slow down when you pass that guy up there."

She nodded again, then took off. I watched as she ran by a very mad Gregory, staying as close to the other wall as possible. She was still young, and apparently not good with guys who were older than her. When she turned the corner, I looked back at the seniors.

"Now, does anybody else want to try and hurt one of these kids? Or do you want to end up like him?" I pointed to the guy on the floor, clutching his jaw and moaning.

The seniors looked at each other, releasing the freshmen. I frowned. They never usually gave up like that. I looked and saw that the two seniors who were holding my sister were still keeping her in their clutches. I looked at my sister's face, and saw panic. Her eyes kept moving between myself and something behind me. I turned just in time. Gregory had been creeping up behind me, planning to grab me in a bear hug, but since I moved, he just stumbled forward, grabbing air.

I looked at Tammie's friends.

"Run!"

They jumped, startled that I had shouted at them, then took off running after their first friend, stumbling around the corner. I looked back at the seniors in front of me. Where was Robert when I needed him?

I bit my lower lip, trying not to panic, when Gregory grabbed my ankle, pulling me to the floor, causing me to bite through my lip, blood flowing into my mouth. I crashed to the floor beside Gregory. He climbed on top of me, sitting on my stomach and grinning down at me. I struggled as hard as I could, but two seniors held my legs down. Gregory held down my arms, and there was a glint in his eyes that I didn't like.

"Get off me, you big monkey!" I cried, trying to pull my arms from the ground so I could give him a good punch in the eye.

He just kept grinning down at me.

"Oh, so sorry, hon. That's not going to happen."

The scent of cherries wafted down into my face, making me want to puke again.

"You better believe it's not," I heard from down the hallway.

We all looked to see Robert standing there with the principal and at least five teachers, and all of Tammie's friends that I had told to run. Robert stood beside the principal, his arms crossed, grinning.

The teachers ran down the hall toward us, pulling Gregory and the other two seniors away from me so I could stand up, and the two away from Tammie. I scrambled to my feet, rushing to the bathroom agian, since I had gotten a good whiff of Gregory's breath before he was pulled off me. Everyone was silent as my breakfast came back upstream. As I coughed up the last bit of cereal, I heard footsteps coming into the bathroom and saw Tammie through the open stall door. She had tears running down her face, obscuring her makeup, but other than that she appeared fine.

I flushed the toilet, standing up and exiting the stall, going over to the sink to wash my hands and rinse my mouth out again. I wiped my mouth with a paper towel, threw it away, then turned to my sister. She looked so young, standing there with tears going down her face, but she didn't wipe them away. She just stood there, so I went over and wrapped my arms around her. She buried her face against my shoulder, and I was thankful that I was wearing a spaghetti strap shirt, since her tears brought her makeup with it.

I petted her hair, saying it was all right as she cried, but nothing seemed to calm her down. I had her climb on my back, and since she wasn't that big, she got on easily, wiping her eyes, rubbing away some of her makeup. I actually preferred she didn't wear it at all, since it didn't look all that right on her.

Pulling on the roll of paper towels, I managed to tear off a piece, handing it to Tammie to blow her nose, another to wipe her eyes. She took the gratefully, wiping away the blurred makeup first, then blowing her nose to where she could breathe again. I let her throw the used paper towels away before we exited the restroom. Outside, I looked down the way we came. The principal was lecturing Gregory and his senior pals, and when he looked up and caught my eye, he grinned. I bristled at the sight. I would have gone down and smacked him had the principal not been standing there, or Tammie on my back. Instead, I just turned my head, walking away, heading to where Robert stood at the end of the hall, talking to a boy with dyed green hair.

I set Tammie down and the green-haired boy immediately pulled her into a hug. I just stared. She'd told me that she was going out with a boy right now, but she never pointed out which one she was dating.

"So this is the boy you've been talking about, Tam," I teased.

She blushed, burying her face in his shoulder. Robert and I laughed.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Mom and Dad. We both know they wouldn't approve at your age. I'm just glad you found someone around your age, and likes the same thing you do, Tam."

"Um, actually Sis," she hedged, then sighed. "He's two years older than me. I thought I told you that."

My eyebrows went up.

"Whoa. Now Mom and Dad _definitely_ wouldn't approve you dating a guy my age. So he's a sophomore, huh? Never would've thought of that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" the guy asked.

I waved my hand at him. "It's nothing. Tam never really showed an interest in guys until recently, when she told me about you. David, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. So, what'd she say about me?"

I laughed again at the sight of Tammie's face.

"Don't worry, Sis, I don't tell secrets. Sorry, David, but I can't tell ya. I was sworn to secrecy by little Tamantha right here," I said, pointing at my little sister who continued to blush in her boyfriend's arms.

We continued to joke about Tammie when my phone started vibrating in my pocket. I looked at the principal who was starting to lead the boys to the office for their punishment, passing by us with glum expressions, except for one. As Gregory passed he smiled at me, but not a kind one. It was sort of a crazy smile, making my skin crawled.

I hoped he got more than two weeks of suspension for sexual harassment and attack on other student.

My phone kept buzzing in my pocket, so as soon as the principal, the teachers, and the seniors were around the corner, I pulled it out and looked at the screen. It was my mother. I flipped it open, putting it to my ear. It had to have rung at least twenty-five times or more before I'd answered.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hi, dear," Mom said through the phone.

And that's when my world started falling apart.

When Mom said that Dad was being transferred to the Forks, Washington Police Station, and that we were going to be moving, I nearly fainted.

I'm serious.

Robert had to catch me, and Tammie took the phone from my limp hand, talking to Mom, telling her I fainted and asked what was wrong. When Mom told her, she flipped out. She was yelling so loud we were afraid the principal was going to come back and check on us, but David and a girl with pink hair that was a part of Tammie's group who had come back silenced her before we got in trouble.

The girl told us her name was Julie, and that she had been listening at the principal's office what the seniors' punishment was going to be. She stood there, excited and bouncing on her toes in her black combat boots, and said that Gregory and the students who had held me and Tammie down were getting expelled, while the others got a month of suspension. She gave David and Tammie a high five, which meant that some of their worries were over, since some of those seniors were ones that kept picking on my sister's little group of friends.

I congratulated them, saying they deserved a break from all the bullying they were receiving. I managed to stand on both feet without swaying, taking back the phone before Mom started asking questions.

"Hey, Mom," I said quickly. "Don't panic, okay?"

"Don't panic?" she nearly screamed, I had to move the phone away from my ear. "What do you mean 'don't panic'? I just heard that seniors were attacking my daughter during school hours! How do you think that makes me feel, adding the 'don't panic' part?"

I could hear Elisa in the background crying, "What? Tammie was attacked by seniors?" Her shouting caused Geoff to start wailing.

Elisa was only twelve, but she was a very bright girl. She looked a lot like our mom, but instead of having dark hair like both she and I did, she was a blond like Amber, except the shade was real, and Geoff was eight, acting almost exactly like me when I was a child – harebrained and erratic.

I sighed. "Listen, Mom. That was something that happened during break, okay?" Every day we got a half hour off from classes. Consider it our recess time. "Besides, those seniors were picking a fight with me, anyway."

"You didn't start another fight, did you?"

I frowned. I was notorious for starting fights with seniors nowadays. And it was basically the ones who picked on Tammie's crew.

"No, I ended it, Mom. They were harassing Tammie. Not picking on, harassing. Like pinning her against the wall and trying to kiss her harassing. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Mom was silent.

"All right," she finally said. "I guess moving's going to be a good thing for the two of you. Besides, we'd be living close to Amber. I thought you would want to see your older sister more often then when she was off work?"

That one silenced me.

"Anyway, I'm coming to get you right now."

Then she hung up and I sighed.

"Mom's coming," I told Tammie. "So watch what you say, got it?"

She nodded. She held tightly to David, burying her face in his shoulder again.

And basically that brings us back to the present.

0 0 0 0 0

After I hung up, I looked at Bella and Dominic.

"How long has that house been for sale?" I asked them.

"For about a month," Bella said. "Why?"

"Well, Mom told me she looked in the newspaper to find a house in the Arizona paper, then saw this one in a paper from Washington. I don't know how she got her hands on it, but she said she just found it lying on her desk at work." I ran my hand through my hair. "Maybe someone put it there, hoping she'd find it. She said it was even circled in red marker. I just don't get it."

I bit my thumb, thinking things through.

"Well, maybe it was just a coincidence that the house was across the street."

I looked up at Dominic. "Huh?"

"Maybe someone knew your mom was looking for a house and found one cheap for her, or something. I don't know." He shrugged.

"He could be right, you know," Bella agreed.

I sighed. "I just don't know anymore. I give up. I'm tired, and I need sleep. Where do you thin I can crash for the night, Bella?"

"Well, you can sleep on the couch. I'll explain to Charlie in the morning when I go to school. How's that?"

"Sounds good to me. Just lead the way."

She nodded, crossing the room to open the door quietly, stepping out into the short hallway. She tiptoed over to the stairs, Dominic and I following just as silently. We stepped softly down the stairs, turning into the living room. I gratefully collapsed on the couch, setting both of my bags on the floor beside my feet and finally pulling off my shoes and socks. I kept Dominic's jacket on since I was still cold.

"Let me go get a blanket."

She went back into the hallway, and I could hear the sound of a door opening and closing softly, then muted footsteps as Bella made her way back, tossing me the blanket. I spread it over me, snuggling under it and resting my head on the couch arm, snug as a bug.

"I could go get a pillow for you if you want," Bella offered.

I shook my head. "No, comfortable enough. But thanks. Oh, I almost forgot. I had dinner out tonight, so I still have the leftovers in my purse. Do you think you can put it in the fridge please?"

"Sure."

She took the tupper ware container that I pulled out, heading toward the kitchen. I could hear her open the fridge door, then shut it again, making her way back to us.

"Anything else?"

I shook my head. "No, that was it."

She nodded. "Well, good night, Caroline."

"Night, Bella."

She headed back upstairs to her room, and Dominic just crossed the room and sat in an armchair, watching me. I looked at him, as I huddled under the blanket, warming up.

"What are you doing, Dominic?" I yawned. "You need to get home or else you're family'll worry."

He just grinned.

"Oh, don't worry about me. Just go to sleep. I'll leave after a while."

I shrugged, already drifting. I closed my eyes and snuggled under the blanket, warm as a fire under its thick cover. I could hear Dominic humming to himself, but instead of annoying me, it soothed my nerves, helping to fall asleep faster. The last thing I heard was Dominic whisper, "Sweet dreams, Melody."

* * *

**A/N**: So, um, what do you think? When I started writing this was when I thought up my username. Yeah, I was really obsessed with it in middle school lol Not so much anymore, but I still like it.

Anyways, tell me what you think of Caroline/Melody and Dominic. Not on Gregory and his thugs, please, that little scene was just used for explanations, flash backs, and a little foreshadowing.

NOTE: I DO NOT LIKE GREGORY, THAT'S WHY HE WENT OUT THE WAY HE DID. Just thought I'd put that out there before there were some misconceptions on the topic.

_Ciao _(^_^)/


	2. A Look in Time

**A/****N**: This one. Oh my God, I swear, my writing got so much better as soon as I started to write this chapter after I finished the first one a couple years ago. My sentences aren't so choppy and … crap, oh yeah, my diction is also better. See? Big word :D

Anyway, I claim none of the characters in this story except for Caroline/Melody, Dominic, Tammie, Amber and Maxie (these two's names at least), Geoff, Elisa, Robert, Gregory … Oy, too many. Okay, let's retry this.

**I do not own any of the characters from the book saga ****Twilight****by the author Stephenie Meyers, the only ones I own are the ones I made up, i.e., a LOT of them.**

There we go.

* * *

The first time I woke up, I was covered in a cold sweat. I had been having a bad dream, about what I couldn't remember, the horrifying images I had seen disappearing as I blinked my eyes, trying to hold back tears that had already spilled over. I wiped my eyes and sniffed, and as I rolled over and closed my eyes again, I could see some of the terrifying things from my dream – no, not dream. Nightmare.

Images that I couldn't find a word for, I was too frightened to think about it. Flashing red eyes, sharpened canines, even the cheesy cape that was seen frequently in horror movies and on Halloween when kids ran around saying "Trick-or-treat!" to the neighbors.

I curled into a ball, trying to get warm again, but nothing worked. I was shivering with fear, and I uncurled myself, sitting up, knowing I'd have to face it sooner or later. I leaned over and pulled my phone out of my purse, flipping it open and turning it off vibrate. I found the file that I had recorded in the restaurant and hit the PLAY button, swallowing hard. I listened through the first few minutes, then it got interesting. They were talking about hypothetical situations and exeptions, about someone named Joe and another Jane. Trouble in a small town, what were these two on?

Then it went on through the part where they talked about her number being up. I closed my phone, not wanting to listen to the rest. As I laid down, something nagged at me in the back of my mind. There was something about the "hypothetical" conversation they'd had that got me on edge. As I curled into a ball again, I finally figured out the word to describe the pictures from my forgotten dream: _vampire_.

* * *

I woke a second time to the sound of the pitter patter of the rain as it splashed softly against the window. I sat up, yawning, feeling great after a good night's sleep, and stretched my arms above my head, making an excited squeak when I remembered I was in a new town, in someone else's house. I stood up, noticing that I was still wearing Dominic's jacket, and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, making sure it didn't drag on the floor as I walked through the house. I checked upstairs, seeing only two bedrooms, one Bella's, the other I thought was probably her dad's, Charlie. My stomach grumbled, so I skipped down the stairs and into the kitchen, heading over to the refrigerator. I pulled out the leftovers of my mushroom ravioli and popped it into the microwave, removing the plastic top and covering it with a paper towel, setting the timer. I watched as the container spun on the revolving plate, going back into the living room to put the blanket on the couch, but kept the jacket on. When the timer beeped, I walked back and opened the microwave door, pulling out the container.

I set it on the table, but remembered that I didn't have a fork, so I went rummaging through the drawers until I found one. I blew away the steam, stabbing a ravioli, popping it into my mouth. I let out a muffled cry when the hot ravioli touched my tongue, and I swallowed it. Running over to a cabinet, I opened it and found some cups, so I took one, filling it up with water from the tap, drinking it down in two gulps.

Gasping, I set the glass down, then took a deep breath. I filled the glass with water again and went back to the table, sitting down, being careful as I speared another ravioli, this time blowing it with longer breaths of air. I stuck it carefully in my mouth, glad that it wasn't scalding hot anymore.

When I was done I went over to the sink, washing out my bowl with soap and warm water. I'd seen that they didn't have a dishwasher. Setting the dishes on the towel beside the sink, I dried my hands, heading back out into the living room. I noticed a note on my purse. I picked it up and looked it over.

It was from Bella. "Caroline," she wrote . . .

I couldn't talk to Charlie this morning. When I woke up, he was already gone. He probably didn't notice you. Yet. I hope you're awake before he gets home. Oh, and he's usually home sometime after I get back, so be ready by at least 4:00.

Bella.

I leaned down, pulling my phone from my purse. I checked the time – it was quarter of three. Looks like drifting in and out of sleep had kept me on the couch for longer than I'd thought. I stuck my cell in my back pocket, placing the note on the couch and heading upstairs, taking the bag with my essentials in hand. I hoped she didn't mind if I took a shower before either one of them returned.

I climbed the stairs and found the bathroom. I kept the door open a crack just in case, and started to strip. I had just pulled the jacket and my shirt off when I heard a knock at the door. I growled and pulled them back on, rushing out of the bathroom and down the stairs to the front door. I opened the door slowly, peering out. It was a boy with straight black hair and copper skin, a teenager no doubt. And a tall one, too. He was a bit taller than I was at my five-one height.

"Hi," he said smiling. "Is Bella here?"

I shook my head, a little wary of the boy. "No, she's at school."

He frowned. "Oh, yeah. I forgot I ditched early today to come here."

I smiled. "Well, looks like you wasted your effort."

His smiled returned. "I guess so. What's your name? You look like a new face around here . . ."

"Oh, I'm Caroline Anton. I'm staying here for a few days before heading back to Arizona to meet my folks before they head out here."

"Jacob Black. Nice to meet you, Caroline."

We shook hands. He had a firm grip.

"Well, Bella's going to be back in about an hour or so, and I don't know exactly when Charlie's getting home. Bella didn't tell me last night when I got here."

"You just came to Forks last night?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah." I left out the part that I'd actually been dragged here . . . sort of.

My phone started ringing in my pocket. I had turned it off vibrate last night, but I don't remember why. I searched my front pockets, then remembered I'd put it in the back, so I grabbed it and pulled it out. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Tammie. I flipped it open and immediately heard the hysterical voice of my sister through the receiver, even though it wasn't near my ear yet.

"Tammie," I said. "Calm down. Tam–"

She cut me off and I could finally understand what she was saying. I sighed, opening the door wider so Jacob could come in. I walked into the living room, Jacob shutting the door behind us, and sat on the couch, pulling the blanket onto my lap so he could sit down.

"Tammie," I tried again. "Tam–"

She kept babbling on, back to where she was incomprehensible. I breathed through my teeth, trying to keep calm, but something seemed to snap.

"Tamantha Virginia Anton, cool it!" I shouted. "Now, explain slowly what's wrong."

I could hear her breathing in short gasps. She sounded like she was crying.

"Th-they told me I can't see him again!" she cried, so loud I had to move the receiver away from my ear, and I bet Jacob could hear it too from where he was sitting beside me.

While she cried, I looked at Jacob.

"It's my sister," I explained.

"Older or younger?"

"Younger. Fifteen. A nightmare."

He laughed. "I've got two older sisters. They're twins."

"Really? That's cool."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm just glad they're out of the house. Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State, and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer – she lives in Hawaii now."

"Married. Wow," I said, astonished.

He suddenly laughed. I looked at him curiously.

"That's the exact same thing Bella said when I told her a few weeks ago at the beach."

"Beach? Where?" I hadn't seen a beach in so long I was nearly jumping on the couch in excitement.

"Down in La Push."

"La Push? Never been there." Tammie started calling my name hysterically, pulling my attention away from Jacob. "Hold on."

She started talking about how Mom and Dad had caught her sneaking out and was putting her under house arrest while the school was closed. I _mmm_'d and _aah_'din the right places, making her believe I was listening when I was actually just sitting there on the couch, looking around the room. This had already happened to me when I was her age, but this was before all the guys started picking on my sister, then they just left me alone, probably scared I would hurt them, just like I threatened.

"Hello? Melody, are you listening?" Tammie demanded.

I snapped back to the present, holding the phone back to my ear. "Yes, I'm here, Tammie. Don't worry, you'll be off house arrest soon. And the next time you sneak off? Be more stealthy, all right?"

She mumbled an answer, then the line went dead.

I closed my phone, sighing. I leaned back against the couch, closing my eyes.

"Everything okay?" Jacob asked.

I took a deep breath. "Yeah, my sister got caught sneaking out to meet her secret boyfriend. My parents found out and put her under house arrest. And said she couldn't see him again." I shook my head. "When I was her age, I never got caught, except once. My parents were furious with me, but they got over it."

Jacob chuckled, and I smiled.

"Sounds like you were a miscreant when you were fifteen."

"Ha, I was more than that. I was kind of a delinquent when I was fifteen. I would sneak out, go to bonfires, hook up with guys I barely knew." I shook my head, smiling. "I was a bad child. But then when Tammie started getting picked on, I changed from delinquent to protective older sister. I stood up for her and her friends, kept them all out of fights, and kept her from getting harassed by the older kids. The more they picked on her and her friends, the more I got mad." I frowned.

Jacob was about to say something, but stopped when we heard a car door slam outside. It was either Bella, which was unlikely since she was probably still on her way, or Charlie, back from the station. I heard cursing as the person outside dropped their keys on the ground in front of the door. It was a male voice.

Charlie was home early.

I panicked. My arms flailed and I picked up my stuff, motioning for Jacob to grab the blanket and follow me. We flew quietly up the stairs, reaching the top just as Charlie was opening the door. We hid in Bella's room, closing the door slightly so he wouldn't see us if he came upstairs, and crouched on the floor beside each other. I could hear him clomping around below, and I heard him taking something off his belt, probably a gun. Goosebumps appeared on my arms under the jacket sleeves as I thought about what might happen if he caught us inside Bella's bedroom.

We froze when I heard the front door open, then relaxed when we heard Bella's voice call, "Dad? You're home early today."

Charlie grunted. "Well, it was pretty slow down at the station, so I decided I

might as well head home, surprise you before you got home." I could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke to his daughter.

Bella laughed. "Well, you certainly surprised me. I'm gonna go start on my homework, okay?"

Then we heard Bella practically run up the stairs, probably wondering where I was. When she opened the door, she froze in the doorway as soon as she saw Jacob and me huddled on the floor, side by side. She raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged.

"I panicked," I said.

She sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"What's Jacob doing here, Caroline?" she whispered so Charlie wouldn't overhear us downstairs.

Again I shrugged. "He said he came here to see you. We got to talking downstairs, my sister called, then Charlie got home. We fled up the stairs just in time, too. I almost had a panic attack when he started unlocking the door, but we managed to hide in time, before Charlie even had the door open," I answered softly.

She pressed two fingers to each temple and took a deep breath.

"This is going to be a hard one to explain. Why didn't you wait downstairs?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Your dad's a police officer, right?"

She nodded.

"And he has a gun, right?"

She nodded again, figuring out where this was going.

"So do you really think I want to be down there when your father has a loaded gun, and we're in his house without his knowing? I don't think so."

She sighed. "I guess you're right. Well, just leave your stuff here and come downstairs. I'll introduce you to Charlie. And Jacob?"

He looked up at her.

"Stay here until I say it's safe, all right?"

He frowned. Looked like he wanted to surprise Charlie.

"Why not let him come down too, Bella?" I asked. "I mean, me being here is bad enough, but isn't he welcome here?"

"Well . . ." She sighed again. "All right, you can come down too, Jacob."

Jacob grinned at me. He gave me a soft high five, so it wouldn't echo downstairs.

"Well, are we going or what?" I said impatiently.

Bella shook her head, tossing her backpack onto her bed. "Come on, then."

Jacob stood up, setting the blanket on the floor, then helped me to my feet, a little too fast. I wobbled a bit, but managed to steady myself before I embarrassed myself by falling flat on my face. I took a deep breath, then followed as Bella and Jacob walked out into the hallway. Bella was the first down the stairs, then Jacob, then me. As we came closer to the kitchen doorway, I could make out a pair of boots sitting at the table, then a pair of legs, then both arms that rested on the table, then I finally saw the head of Charlie, staring down at a paper in his hands. He looked up as we came into the kitchen. I hid behind Jacob, and he just grinned down at me. I turned red with embarrassment. I was always shy when meeting people who were older than me, especially grownups.

"What's this all about?" I heard Charlie ask.

"Well, Dad, a friend came into town last night and she didn't have a place to stay, so I let her stay the night. I hope you don't mind," Bella tried to explain.

I heard a flutter as Charlie set down his newspaper.

"And I suppose that friend wasn't Jacob, was it?"

Jacob and I laughed at that one. Bella just grinned.

"No, it wasn't Jacob. Her name's Caroline. She's moving from Arizona, just like I did." She turned to Jacob. "Jacob, could you let my dad see Caroline, please?"

"Sure," he said, stepping out from behind me, exposing me.

"Dad," Bella said, "this is Caroline."

I looked down at the floor and Jacob nudged me with his elbow.

"Hi," I said meekly, not looking up and playing with a button on the jacket.

"So you're the girl I saw on the couch this morning," Charlie said, to my surprise.

I looked up at him immediately, blinking in surprise. "What? You saw me this morning? B-but how?" I stammered.

He just grinned. "I may be getting on in years, but that doesn't mean I don't notice when there's a person in my living room, even early in the morning."

I turned red again, looking down at the floor, and I heard Jacob laugh. I glared at him out of the corner of my eye. He stopped laughing, but a grin was left on his face.

"But don't worry about it. You can stay here until your family moves in. Do you know where the house is yet?" He picked up a can of beer that sat in front of him.

"Um, yeah. It's the one right across the street," I said timidly.

He set down his beer and nodded. "Figures that place would sell soon. Know when you're moving in?" he asked, looking up at me.

I shook my head, too nervous to speak now that his eyes were on me. I felt Jacob put a reassuring hand on my shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. It gave me enough courage to say, "Well, my parents want to start the move by at least next week. They already have all the paper work filled out to get me enrolled in Forks High School."

"That's where I go to school," Bella said. "The town is so small, I think there's only one high school for miles."

I nodded. "That's what I figured. Where do you go to school, Jacob?"

"I go to school on the reservation. Dad's probably going to get mad when he finds out I ditched to come here today." He laughed.

Charlie looked up at him, grinning. "No, Billy won't be too happy when he hears that, Jake."

Bella looked over at him, eyebrows raised. "You ditched school, Jake?"

He shrugged. "Just the end. It kinda got boring, just sitting there. So I snuck out and walked the way here."

"Jake, La Push is at least fifteen miles from Forks, you know that," Bella scolded.

But Jacob just shrugged again. "Good exercise."

Charlie and I laughed. Bella rolled her eyes.

We sat at the table and Jacob and Charlie talked about a game that was coming on later. Bella and I just sat there while I played with my phone, and she watched me as I looked things up online, laughing every once in a while when we found something funny. The boys kept asking what we were laughing at, but before I could move the phone away, Jacob snatched it from my hands, holding it between them. They laughed when they saw that we were looking at old pictures of my siblings and me from over the years that I had sent to my email a while before I left, so that way I could see my family when they weren't really there. We had been looking at one where my five siblings and I had been at the beach before Amber had dropped out, and Elisa was splashing water at Amber, I was hiding behind Derek, and Tammie was chasing after Geoff since he had gotten sand in her hair. Mom had taken the picture and Dad wasn't in it since he had been over seas on one of his business trips he took about twice a year, hoping it would go down to only one so he could spend more time with us.

After a while, Bella started making dinner for her and Charlie. She asked me if I was hungry, but I told her I'd eaten my leftovers from last night, and she wondered aloud what it was. I told her it was mushroom ravioli, my favorite, and she sort of froze, but thawed before anyone else besides me noticed. She seemed to remember last night, but still didn't know that I had hidden under a table while I watched her and her date from across the floor. She went back to making dinner, the smell of grilled cheese sandwiches filling the kitchen, and the phone rang. Charlie got up and answered it, since Bella was chopping tomatoes carefully, turning to Jacob and grinning.

"Billy," he said. "Yeah, Jake's here. Yeah, I'll tell him. Bye, Billy."

He placed it back on the wall, looking over at Jacob.

"You're dad says you need to come home immediately. He didn't sound very happy with you, Jake," Charlie said, smiling.

Jacob grinned. "All right. Think you can give me a ride, Chief Swan?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah. Come on, kid, let's get in the cruiser. Bella, I'll be back in about an hour."

"Okay, Dad," she said, kissing him on the cheek. "Don't be out too late. See you, Jacob."

"Bye, Bella. Later, Caroline."

The two of them headed out the front door, into the rain, and as soon as the cruiser was out of sight, my phone rang. I looked up at Bella quizzically. She just shrugged, going back to cutting tomatoes, but I could see her smile as she turned her back to me. I narrowed my eyes at her and picked my phone up off the table, answering it to hear a voice I realized I'd wanted to hear all day.

"Hey, Caroline," Dominic said.

"Dominic? How'd you get my number?" I stammered.

He chuckled on the other end. "Easy, I looked it up in your phone."

"B-but when?"

"When you were asleep this morning, before I left. It wasn't that hard, you know."

I ran my hand through my hair, leaning my elbow on the table as I sat there, confused. "When did you leave?" I asked, a trace of something I didn't realize in my voice.

"Before Charlie woke up, around four."

"Oh . . ." I said, disappointed. I figured he'd at least said goodbye in a note or something before he left, but I guess Charlie would have found the note before I had.

"Why, did you miss me?" I could hear the smile in his voice.

I instantly turned red at his words.

"N-no, I just wondered what happened to you, since you weren't there when I woke up."

"Uh-huh. Do you want me to make it up to you?"

I blinked. "Huh?"

"Do you want me to make it up to you? Since I wasn't there when you woke up this morning."

My face burned with embarrassment as I sat there, running my hand through my hair again. "Um, s-sure. All right."

"Good. Be ready in five."

"Five? But Dominic –" I started, but he had already hung up.

I closed my phone, setting it on the table. I sat back in my chair, my face in my hands.

"What's wrong? Dominic coming to pick you up?"

I mumbled an answer through my fingers and she laughed. I pushed my hands into my hair, narrowing my eyes at her. "You were in on it, weren't you?"

She turned her back to me again, flipping the sandwiches then chopping another tomato slowly. "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about, Caroline. I had no idea."

"Liar."

She laughed again and I got up from the table, going into the living room to grab Dominic's jacket. I planned on returning it to him tonight, but I was starting to rethink it as I pulled it on, the scent of it pleasing me as I realized it was better than I remembered. When I heard Bella's laugh from the kitchen I spun around, stunned.

"You don't have a scent fetish, do you Caroline?" she called.

"N-no, it just smells sort of odd," I stammered in my embarrassment.

She kept laughing, but said, "Don't worry, it happens to me, too."

I walked back into the kitchen, pushing the sleeves of the jacket back. "What, you smell your boyfriend's jacket too? That's kind of messed up, Bella."

She turned red, pausing her chopping. "W-well, I guess, but it's not that weird if the smell is nice, you know?"

"I guess so. Dominic's jacket smells sort of like" – I paused to sniff the jacket's inside lining – "rain, I guess. I'm not sure how to explain it," I said, embarrassed agian.

Bella smiled, understanding. "Well, my, um, boyfriend's jacket is sort of the same, except it doesn't smell like rain, it's more like . . ." She thought hard. "Well, actually I'm not really sure what it smells like, but I do know that it's amazing."

I smiled. "Looks like we're the same, in most ways, huh?"

She nodded. "Guess so." She paused when we heard the sound of an engine pull into the driveway, then cut off. "Either that's Charlie, or Dominic's here. Why don't you go look for me?"

I nodded, heading toward the front door. I opened it a crack and immediately closed it, running back into the kitchen, alarming Bella.

"Caroline? What's the matter?"

"Hide me," I pleaded.

She stared at me, bewildered as I tried to hide under the table. "Why? Is it Dominic?"

"Yes, and he has his motorcycle. I don't like them, but he managed to get me on it last night. Oh please, hide me."

She turned the stove top off, coming over to sit beside my trembling form. "Why don't you like motorcycles, Caroline?"

I wrapped my arms around my legs, rocking back and forth.

"Wh-when I was about thirteen, my older brother Derek took me riding on his motorcycle, back when I used to love riding with him around town. But one day, when we were taking a sharp turn too fast, the bike fell on its side, skidding on the pavement. We were both thrown from the bike. Derek was all right, but I had to be put in the hospital. I don't remember what happened, but the doctors told me that I had cracked my skull on the pavement, that I had broken a few of bones and lots of bruises. They said it wasn't life-threatening, but I was terrified to get on another motorcycle ever again after that, and Derek got rid of the bike. He didn't want to traumatize me by having it in the garage." Tears were running down my face now as I sat there, continuing to rock back and forth.

Bella wrapped an arm around my shoulder, calming me a little.

"Well, don't worry. Dominic may drive fast, but he won't let you get hurt. Trust me. Edward's driving terrifies me sometimes." She smiled.

I sniffed. "Is Edward your boyfriend?"

She nodded.

I wiped away my tears with the sleeve of the jacket, staring down at the floor.

"What does he look like?"

"Well, he's pale, kinda like us, and he has bronze hair. He's really sweet, like a gentleman from the 1920's, and he's taller than me. We're the same age though."

"Seventeen?" I guessed.

"Yeah."

"Then, we're the same age, too."

"You're seventeen?" she asked, bewildered for some reason.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you just don't really seem seventeen. You actually look sort of like an eighth grader, no offense."

I sighed. "None taken. I've always been the shortest in my class, year after year."

There was a knock at the door and I scrambled closer to the wall in fear. Bella sighed and stood, going to answer the door.

"Hey, Dominic," I heard Bella say.

"Hey, Bella. Is Caroline ready?"

My heart thumped in my chest when I heard him say my name.

"I don't know, let me go check."

I heard footsteps as she started back to the kitchen.

"She under the table?" Dominic murmured.

"Yup."

I saw two pairs of shoes enter the kitchen and I immediately recognized Dominic's hiking boots. I scooted closer to the wall, trying to be invisible, but before I could even react, the table was lifted from above my head. I stared up at Dominic as he effortlessly held the table in his arms.

"Oh, my God," I gasped as I stared.

Dominic grinned. "Grab her."

Bella ducked under a table leg and grasped my arm, pulling me to my feet and dragging me with her. I didn't resist, I just went along with her. She sat me down in one of the chairs and Dominic placed the table back on the floor in front of me. I sat shaking in my chair, my thoughts going back to my nightmare from the night before. I murmured the word I remembered from the night before, over and over again to myself, rocking myself back and forth in the chair.

Bella looked at Dominic. He had frozen where he stood, staring at me.

"Dominic?" she said. "Are you okay?"

His eyes didn't move from where they rested on me, and Bella took a step closer to where I sat, kneeling next to me.

"Caroline, what's the matter?"

I kept whispering to myself, and she leaned close to hear what I said.

"Vampires," I murmured. "It can't be. It just can't."

She pulled away from me, wide-eyed, as she stumbled back over to where Dominic stood, staring at me.

"Dominic, call Edward," Bella said.

He didn't move.

"Now, Dominic!"

His hand flashed into his pocket and he pulled out a cell phone, dialing so fast his thumb was a blur, then it flashed to his ear, and he walked out of the room. Bella just stood there, staring, as unknown tears slid over my cheeks as I continued to say the word over and over again. I heard the click of the phone as Dominic shut it, coming back into the kitchen.

"He's on his way," he murmured, not looking in my direction. "I told him not to come by car since Charlie's on his way back now."

Bella nodded, her eyes wandering over to the forgotten grilled cheese sandwiches that still lay in the pan on the stove top. She sighed, pulling out a plate from a cupboard and placing the sandwiches on it. She set the plate in front of me, saying, "You should eat something," without looking at me.

I obeyed, moving a shaky hand out to take one of the sandwiches, lifting it to my mouth and taking a bite, not tasting it. It was still sort of warm, and the cheese melted in my mouth. I sighed gratefully as my stomach started to fill, my insides warming up. Soon they were gone, and headlights flashed in the kitchen window. Bella came and looked through the blinds, turning to Dominic and saying, "Go hide, Dominic. My dad's home. And you made sure to move your bike behind the house, right?"

Dominic nodded, muttering, "Of course," and disappeared into the shadows as he made his way swiftly up the stairs. The front door opened and we heard the sound of Charlie's boots on the wooden floor, coming toward the kitchen, a funny smell coming from the living room behind him. I couldn't identify it.

"Hey, girls. Sorry it took so long," he apologized.

Bella went over to the stove top, turning it back on.

"No worries, Dad. Caroline said she was getting hungry, so I let her eat the sandwiches before they went to waste."

Charlie nodded. "Good thinking. Any chance of you making some more of those sandwiches for the both of us?"

"Sure. I'll make some for all of us, if Caroline's still hungry, that is." She looked at me over her shoulder. I turned red and nodded, and she went to making more grilled cheese sandwiches for the three of us. I swear I could still feel Dominic's eyes on me, even though he wasn't in the room, and I let out another shiver at the thought.

I wasn't able to eat much when Bella set the grilled cheese in front of us, and I had only taken a few bites when my stomach decided it didn't want anymore. I tried taking another bite, but as soon as I did, it started to come back up, along with the rest. I didn't want to be disrespectful, so I excused myself, rushing up the stairs to the bathroom, closing the door behind me, barely making it inside before I became violently sick. I slid to the floor, coughing, realizing what that smell had been: _cherries_.

Charlie had probably left them in the living room for after dinner, and the smell seemed to have followed him as he walked into the kitchen, but my body's immune system hadn't reacted quick enough, so when I started eating, it rejected the food.

I managed to sit up, and seeing the inside of the toilet bowl, quickly flushed it before more of dinner came back. Standing up I felt woozy so I had to grip the sink edge, waiting for the walls to stop spinning around me, and when they did, I stumbled over to the shower, turning the faucet on to a hot temperature. I was shivering as I stripped and stepped into the bath, scrubbing at my hair with empty hands, then remembered that I needed shampoo. Reaching for my forgotten bag I pulled out everything I needed – soap, shampoo, conditioner – letting water drip from my arm to the linoleum floor. But I didn't notice, I didn't even remember lathering my hair with the shampoo, then conditioner, or rubbing away the shivers with sudsy, shaky hands. All I remembered was how I felt while I was on the floor – cold and shivering.

Soon the water became cold and I shut it off, standing there dripping water from my hair. I was reaching into my bag for a towel when a knock came at the door. I hurriedly pulled the towel out and wrapped it around me. Before I could say "Come in," the door was opening, and I quickly hid behind the shower curtain, out of view.

"Caroline?"

It was Bella.

I breathed a sigh of relief, looking around the curtain to see her worried.

"Are you okay? You didn't look so good when you ran up here."

"Yeah," I said breathlessly. "I just got a little sick. Charlie brought home cherries, didn't he?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I was hoping you could help me make a pie with them, since Charlie got them from his deputy's wife today." She sighed. "You can't help loving the woman."

I smiled sadly. "Sorry, but I can't. I'm allergic."

She raised an eyebrow. "To pies?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, dummy, to cherries. I get violently – and I mean violently – sick if I'm even in the same room as them. So, sorry, I can't help. If you've got any surgical masks and rubber gloves I probably could."

She shrugged. "Sorry, but no. It's too bad, though. It would have been a nice way to get to know each other better."

There was a muted chuckle from beyond the wall, and my head snapped up. It immediately stopped and I looked at Bella. She had stepped out of the bathroom and over to her room, shushing whoever was in there. She came back, looking like a child who had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Dominic?" I asked.

She looked at me sheepishly. "And Edward."

I ran my hand through my wet hair. I was about to meet Edward, and I wondered what it would be like to meet him. In the back of my mind, it felt like there was something that I needed to remember, but I couldn't recall what exactly.

"Um, I'll let you get dressed. Come out when you're ready."

I nodded and she closed the door. As soon as she was gone I went to work getting dressed, trying not to fall as I pulled on a pair of shorts from my bag and a camisole and Dominic's jacket over my undergarments. I stuffed my old clothes into my bag, zipping it up. I left it in the bathroom as I walked into the hall, trying not to hurry and calming my breathing at the same time. Bella's door was open and I looked inside, seeing the silhouette of three people – two I knew, the third I didn't. One was Bella, another Dominic, and the third I guessed to be the famous Edward. They had been talking amongst themselves quietly, but as soon as I appeared in the doorway, they stopped immediately. Bella stood up, coming over to stand beside me.

"Caroline?" she murmured, her hand on my shoulder. Her touch made me realize I had frozen and I thawed under her hand.

"Yeah. I'm okay, Bella." I gave her as much as I could muster of a smile.

She seemed wary, but backed off, going to stand in front of the bed before Edward. I tried to swallow, tried to get my throat moist again, as I attempted a greeting. "So, you must be Edward."

The third silhouette nodded and stood. He came out of the shadows to where I could see him, and I tried not to gasp as I recognized him: it was the boy that Bella had been talking to in the restaurant where Amber and Maxie work last night. I took a step back toward the door, my senses on high alert for some reason. I looked away from his eyes that shined golden in the dim hallway light. I hadn't realized that I was trembling until I looked down at my hand, clenched in a fist at my side, the skin white, pulled taunt over my knuckles. The air was thick as I tried to breathe, my lungs seeming to stop working as I gasped for air. Blood pounded in my ears as Edward took a step toward me, and I took another step back.

"Caroline?" Bella asked worriedly. "What's wrong, are you okay?"

Taking another step I spun on my heel, rushing down the hall and stairs, desperate to get out of the house. I didn't even notice the scent of cherries and Charlie's startled, "Caroline?"

"Sorry!" I called behind me as I ran out the door, slamming it behind me. But once I'd made it to the sidewalk, I didn't stop. I didn't stop when I hit the forest, the ground damp and squishy under my bare feet. I didn't stop until my lungs were screaming for air, and I stumbled off the trail I had been following blindly in the dark, falling to my knees, gasping for breath. I fell to my side in the damp leaves, finally regaining my breath as I lay there, the wetness seeping through the jacket, soon chilling me to the bone. But I didn't stand up, I just laid there, listening to the sounds of the forest around me, calming me. I drifted in and out of sleep, moments where I lost track of everything, and soon it started to rain above the treetops. I wrapped my arms around my legs, pulling them into the jacket, as I listened to the rain fall, and soon I heard another sound, one that didn't belong in the forest: someone calling my name.

I curled into a tight ball, trying to ignore the voice calling through the rain. But soon the one voice turned into two . . . then three. I'd only been gone for what, five, not even ten minutes maybe? That was no reason to worry about me, right? The voices were getting closer and soon I could see the beam of a flashlight above my head, slicing through the rain with a gleam of light and highlighting the drops as they fell through the canopy of leaves that seemed miles over my head. But soon the beam disappeared, and the voices drifted away, leaving me to the peaceful sounds of the forest again. I sighed gratefully, then fell into unconsciousness.

The voices started in my head, calling my name softly, over and over again, then got louder until it felt as if one of them was right next to me, but it was like my head was underwater – I could hear what they were saying, but it sounded like they were far away, even though they were right next to me, talking to me. The voice kept whispering words into my ear, telling me that everything was going to be all right, that they were going to find me soon.

I frowned. I didn't want to be found, I wanted to stay where I was, peaceful as can be, but the voice tried to convince me otherwise, saying things that started to stir something inside of me, pulling my head toward the surface, making my eyes open to a watery sky. I blinked the rain away, staring up at someone who was staring down at me. My brain identified the wet ashy brown hair, the golden eyes filled with worry, and the sound of his voice as he talked to me as I lay on the ground below him. I managed to move my lips to form his name, even though that took some effort, after keeping them in a tight line for a while.

"Dominic," I murmured weakly.

He immediately responded, reaching down to push away my soaked hair from my face, looking down at me with relief, a small smile on his face. He helped me sit up, letting me lean against him, shielding me from the rain that fell softly around us as he called to Bella. She came running over, tripping a few times over roots sticking out of the ground, and by the time she'd made it to us, she was covered in mud and leaves, but she didn't care. She just reached down and pushed away my hair like Dominic had.

"Oh, my God, Caroline, you gave us the biggest scare of our lives! Why did you run off like that anyway?" She searched my face, trying to find a clue in my tired eyes.

I blinked sleepily. "I don't know," I said softly. "One minute I'm fine, the next I needed to get out of that room as fast as I could. I . . . I could hear _things_, that he was thinking." I rested my cheek against Dominic's chest, not caring that he didn't have a heartbeat or was cold as ice, I was too grateful he was there. "It had something to do with Edward, I know that much."

She looked like she believed me, turning away to shout over her shoulder, "I found her, Dad!"

There was the sloshing of boots in the wet leaves, and soon Charlie appeared, running toward us holding a flashlight in one hand, an umbrella held above his head with the other. He came to a slippery stop in front of us, holding the umbrella over Dominic and me, but I was already soaked through and through, everything I wore drenched.

"Is she okay?" Charlie asked frantically.

Bella nodded, standing up. Dominic stood along with her. I also tried to stand but my legs were too weak, so Dominic leaned down, sliding a hand behind my knee to lift my feet off the ground. I held on with the little strength I could manage. Charlie finally noticed him.

"Dominic? What are you doing here?" he asked.

Before he could answer, Bella said, "I called him." I knew this was a lie since Dominic had been here a while.

"But why did you -"

"Because I knew he'd be worried about her. I knew that he wouldn't want anything to happen to Caroline."

I murmured something, and Bella and Charlie leaned toward me to hear what I had said. "Not Caroline, Melody."

Dominic and Charlie looked at each other, confused, but Bella seemed to understand what I was saying. "You're name's Melody, not Caroline?"

I nodded. "Yeah," I mumbled.

She looked up at Dominic, seeming to look for something, then looked back down at me. I could see through the reflection in her eyes that Dominic had nodded. It looked like she wanted more answers, but instead said, "Let's get you inside. You should get dry. We'll talk about it in the morning." She stood and started walking through the leaves and over roots, stumbling sort of. She was sure to tell Edward about what happened. I dreaded being in the same room as him. I guess it was sort of normal for his kind to be feared.

Dominic followed her through the shrubbery, water flying off the leaves as he brushed through them. Rain splashed down from above, but he shielded me from it, leaning over enough to cover me with his body. I could hear Charlie behind us, sloshing through the leaves hurriedly, trying to keep up with Dominic's quick stride, seeming to hurry out of the forest. Before we were even close to reaching the end, I was starting to drift. At times I could tell we were moving, but others felt like I was floating on air, then there was a harsh jolt and I was forced out of my reverie, my brain pounding in my head as I realized that Dominic had jumped over a log, seeing that it was too big to just step over. I moaned like a helpless kitten, clinging to his soaked T-shirt weakly. He held me tighter to his chest, his step becoming lighter as he began to run. It was pitch black out but he could see perfectly fine, it seemed. He had already caught up with Bella, who'd had a head start, and was just passing her when Charlie called out for us to wait up.

Dominic skidded to a stop – literally, with the wet leaves beneath his feet – and waited beside Bella as Charlie jogged tiredly through the leaves. He was breathing hard, and in the light that shined from his flash light, his face was bright red. When he'd managed to stumble toward us, he stopped, leaning over and taking deep breaths. "I'm not young like I used to be," he wheezed. "You kids need to slow down for me. I need to take it easy for a while." He had to take a long, slow breath before asking, "How long until we reach the end of the trees, Bella?"

Bella looked through the light rain with squinted eyes, then shined her flashlight through the trees. Through my tired eyes I could see where the light ended and flashed into the empty rain on the other side of the trees.

"Not much farther, Dad. Not even a quarter mile, then we're out."

Charlie let out a whoosh of air, then waved his hand at us. "You kids go on ahead. I'll catch up in a little while. I just need to take a short rest."

Bella stepped toward her father. "I'll stay with you. Dominic, you get Caroline – I mean Melody – back to the house and into some dry clothes. And if you have to, call Alice to help her." She whispered the last part. I wondered who Alice was dazily.

Dominic nodded, taking the flashlight from her outstretched hand needlessly. I knew he didn't need it, he was just keeping show for Charlie. He shined the light in front of us and took off running, not complaining about my weight or breathing hard. I could hardly feel the movement that would show that he was running, the only way I could tell was by the trees that flashed by us as green blurs. But I wasn't watching the trees. I was staring up at Dominic's face, his eyes staring straight ahead, looking down every once in a while to glance at me. I kept a tight grip on his shirt, my hands hurting from the strain.

Before I knew it we were in the small backyard of Charlie's house. Dominic went through the back door, shutting it quietly behind him with his foot. He went through the kitchen to the stairs, never looking once into the living room, flying up them soundlessly, heading toward Bella's room. Pushing the door open with his shoulder, he sat me on the bed, steadying me when I swayed slightly. He disappeared for a moment, then stood before me again with a towel, wrapping it around my head. He started rubbing my hair with it in an attempt to dry it. Every so often, he looked at my hair, but when he saw that I still had some leaves and mud in it, he sighed, letting the towel fall to my shoulders.

"I'm going to call Alice. She can get you in the shower again and help you make sure you get cleaned up."

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, but before he could dial the number, a voice came from the shadows, "Don't worry, Dominic. I was already on my way here. I saw Bella and her father searching for Melody, and when I saw you with her, I knew it had something to do with this poor girl."

Out of the shadow stepped a pixie-like girl with spiky black hair. I stared in awe as she walked – or danced I should say – over to Dominic, placing a hand on his wet shoulder. "I'll take it from here, Dominic. You go talk to Edward downstairs."

I stiffened at the sound of his name. I wasn't over what had happened earlier that night, remembering the strong discomfort when I stood in the same room as Edward when he looked at me like that, like he was . . . trying to read my mind, or something. But Dominic only nodded, disappearing once again out the door. I watched, dumbfounded, not used to him moving that fast yet. But Alice pulled me out of my reverie when she said, "We should get you cleaned up, Melody."

She lifted me off the bed like a child, carrying me in her arms to the bathroom where she sat me down on the closed toilet seat. I rubbed my arms where her ice cold skin had touched mine, watching as she leaned over the bathtub rim, turning on the water, hot then cold. It looked like she was guessing the degree of the water until she'd found the right temperature, turning the shower on. She pulled the curtain to shield us from the water, then looked at me.

"Strip," she said simply.

I stared at her, bewildered. I was not going to strip, let alone in front of this mysterious girl. Alice sighed, and in one swift movement, she had me standing with my clothes off, strewn on the floor, Dominic's jacket among the pile. I gasped, covering my naked body with my arms as best I could. She just looked at me like I still had my clothes on, indifferent.

"Now, get in. You're probably going to need some help with your hair. I can do that." She grinned, showing off sparkling white teeth.

I blinked, then stepped warily into the tub, the warm water immediately calming my tense muscles. I sighed, content, then shivered, my teeth chattering as I realized that I was freezing. I squealed when I felt her hands in my hair.

"Relax, Melody. I'm not going to hurt you. I brought something with me that'll help your hair shine. After this, you should really let me give you a makeover. There's really no way Bella would let me do one on her." I could hear the smile in her voice as she tried to calm me. I just stood there, rubbing my hands up and down my arms, trying to make the shivers go away.

"Okay, now rinse your hair out."

I did as I was told and took a step back, letting the water rinse away whatever it was she had put in my hair out onto the tub's bottom, spiraling down the drain. It was a pink color, so I asked, "What did you use in my hair, um, Alice?"

She held the bottle inside the shower to where I could see it. It was a curved bottle with a pink, goopy liquid in it. I read the label to myself. "What is this stuff?"

"Oh, just some stuff that I bought when I went south. They have some good stuff in the shampoo down there."

"Oh, really?" I mused.

"Yup. I'm _dying_ to try it on Bella, but she's stubborn, and actually she looks beautiful the way she is. Anyway, Edward wouldn't like it if I did use it on her."

"Really? He must like her enough to want to keep her the way she is now."

"No, he doesn't like her."

I started to ask but she interrupted me before I could say a word.

"He loves her, and I can see why. She's so pretty with her brunette hair, which Edward prefers, let me tell you." She laughed, a chime in the wind. "Blonds aren't really a good type for him. I mean, Rosalie is beautiful, but she looks so much better with Emmett, the big goof." Then she muttered, "I don't see why she would want him to want her like she did. So ridiculous."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing, just talking to myself."

"M'kay." I put it off for now, but kept the thought of the blond in the back of my mind. I was wondering about what she would look like, blond, pale and beautiful like Alice, when the water started to turn cold. I yelped in surprise, turning it off immediately. I wrung my hair out, wincing at how loud the water was when it hit the tub floor. "Alice can you – "

She handed me a towel before I could finish my sentence.

"Thanks," I mumbled. Something was odd about Alice, that was for sure. She knew what I was going to say before I could ask. It was really weird. I decided I would ask her about it later.

"Don't worry," she said, startling me. "I know it's kind of weird at first, but you'll get used to it after a while, I promise."

I wrapped the towel around me, pulling the curtain back to look at her. She had somehow known about my intentions. I opened my mouth to say something but she cut me off.

"I can see the future, and like I said, you'll get used to it over time. But your future isn't written in stone, so it'll change when _you_ change your mind about something." She shrugged. "Who knows, Dominic might be a good thing for you. Hang on." Her eyes closed and her head hung, her chin touching her chest. Her face was blank, but a minute later it was lively again as she opened her eyes to look at me, a smile on her face. "Yes, Dominic will be a very good thing for you. Come on, we need to get you dressed," she said, eyeing me in my towel.

I turned red and stepped onto the linoleum, slipping on some water that had dripped onto the floor. I started to fall but Alice caught my arm before I was even diagnal. Her icy touch felt like a shock of electricity that ran through my arm. She immediately let me go as soon I was standing straight again. I rubbed the arm she had grabbed, saying, "Wow, your skin is icy."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know."

She walked out of the bathroom into the hall, calling in a normal voice, "Dominic, Edward, if you come up here, I will hurt you. Do not think that I won't carry out my promise."

I could hear a snicker below and I guessed it was Dominic. Edward had seemed too serious to laugh when I'd seen him last.

I looked at the floor, my face turning red as I realized that I wanted Dominic to be somewhere closer to me, close enough for me to touch. I wanted to feel his frozen skin, so mysterious in its own way. But instead of feeling Dominic's I felt Alice's as I ran into her, she had stopped so suddenly in front of me that I hadn't had time to stop before I had crashed into her back. I stumbled back a few steps, blinking in surprise. She just looked back at me, the corner of her lips turning upward.

"You sure do run into me a lot, you know. But I suggest not too much, or else you'll have a bruise in the morning."

I looked at her curiously, and when she pointed at her shoulder, I frowned and looked at my right arm, my eyes widening at what I saw. In the dim light I could see that my shoulder was already turning pink from the small impact I had with Alice's back, and without really meaning to, I twisted the arm that Alice had grabbed to keep me from busting my head open, and gasped at the sight. There were marks on my upper arm in the shape of fingers, and I looked up, eyeing Alice's hand. It seemed that even though she was sort of small and harmless looking, Alice had more force than she allowed. I looked up at her, now aware of what she could do with just a simple slap to the arm could to me, and I took a step back. Alice laughed.

"Don't worry, Melody. I don't like hurting people, so I try to withhold my strength, but sometimes it gets the best of me." She held out her hand. "Now come," she said. "You need to get dressed if you don't want to be in that towel all night."

I looked down at myself and had to agree. I was shivering slightly since I was only in a small towel, and my hair was soaking wet, dropping water on to the floor with a soft _plop_ each time a drop fell. I reached out a shaking hand, placing it in the palm of someone I would have to trust to be able to wear clothes again.

* * *

By the time Alice was done with me, I was primped and polished, ready to go out on the town. Too bad it was too late to leave – to her at least. Alice had done my hair, but hadn't put the make-up on. I was thankful for that.

As we left Bella's room, I could hear Charlie's soft snores from behind his closed door. I guessed that Bella and he had returned while Alice worked on me in Bella's room across the hall. They – or Charlie at least – had passed by unknowingly, unaware of what was happening in Bella's room at the time. Alice had scared me when she'd brought out the curling iron. I hated them. My mother had brought the curler too close to my skin once, singing the exposed flesh. Oh, sure, I'd screamed my head off, and I had to go to the hospital to treat the burns. From then on you wouldn't find a single curler in the house, even though there were five women in the household. Everyone knew that once there was an accident with a certain appliance, there was definitely going to be another one, especially when it concerned my mother.

We walked down the stairs quietly. Or at least Alice did. I'm betting that they could hear me coming a mile away, and my face flushed at my loud footsteps compared to Alice's silent ones. I could hear whispers coming from the living room, then silence as we entered the doorway. My eyes immediately went to Dominic, who looked back with dark, piercing eyes. He held my gaze until I chickened out, looking down at my bare feet.

There were soft footsteps as Bella crossed the living room over to me, putting her hand on my shoulder and leading me to the couch where she sat me. Dominic was in the comfy looking armchair, and I was having a hard time sitting still, my hands just had to be in motion by either wringing together or tapping on my bare knee. It wasn't until Bella laid a hand over mine that I tried to stop my jittering.

"So," I started, staring anywhere except at Edward where he stood next to the window. "Um, I'm guessing there's going to be some talking."

A glance was shared between Alice and Edward, one I didn't miss but pretended not to see. No one said anything for a moment until Dominic said, "Melody, do you believe in myths?"

My brow furrowed as I stared at him. I had just witnessed the use of supernatural speed and strength and he was asking me if I believed in _myths_? Was this boy on something? I decided to try and answer as safely as I could. "I guess. You could say that I do," I said hesitantly.

He looked over to Edward who sighed at my answer. The bronze-haired boy took a step forward in my direction. This caused me to stiffen and pull my legs quickly up to my chest in a fetal position, my body twisting sideways slightly. I had no idea why I was reacting this way, there was just this … feeling of danger I was getting from him as he looked at me with shining gold eyes, even in the dim illumination coming through the window from the pale moon outside. Things kept drifting through my head, words I wasn't even thinking: _Speak … out loud … eyes …_ It was all very jumbled, so much that I could barely understand what was being said, but I tried what I was being told, saying softly, "Why are your eyes gold while your hair is that burnt umber color?"

This caused everyone in the room to blink in surprise at my bold question, except for Alice and Edward, both of which had small smiles on their faces as they watched me.

"I see that it only works when used upon you, different when Alice foresees into your future."

I frowned at his cryptic sentence, saying, "What are you talking about? Was that you in my head?"

Edward gave a slight chuckle at my questions, dodging them by saying, "I believed Bella to be the only one who could thwart me like this. It appears I was wrong."

I swear, he was so confusing with the way he was talking. Everyone seemed to know what he was talking about except for me, and I didn't like being left out of the loop like this when I know it just had to be about me. But Bella voiced my concerns before I could even open my mouth. "Edward, what do you mean? Are you saying that Caroli - Sorry, Melody," she corrected herself, "is like me?"

What the? "I'm sorry, but what are you guys talking about?"

Bella bit her lip as she looked at me, Dominic stared at the floor, and Edward and Alice were looking at each other as if talking silently with one another. I caught Alice moving her mouth just slightly, barely a whisper of breath leaving her mouth, but I knew something was going on.

"Hey, what are you two whispering on about over there?" I demanded. Their little silent conversation was starting to rub my patience raw. I wanted answers, and they were the best way to get them because I knew Dominic and Bella probably wouldn't tell me unless they wanted her to.

Their eyes slid to me and a shiver ran down my spine. Edward's seemed to bore into me, all traces of that smile he'd worn earlier gone as he stared, seeming surprised I had figured out what they were doing. I set my feet back on the floor, but my nerves were still on edge as I watched him. "If you're going to tell me something, do it now before I leave."

Dominic frowned at this and gave a look of almost pleading to Edward. The boy sighed once more before he started to tell me everything since I already knew about the speed and strength, it was only a matter of time before I had figured it out for myself. Alice and Dominic pitched in with some details, some about how the three of them were "vegetarian" vampires, those who only fed on animals. This was what made their eyes shine gold like Edward's, the exact opposite to Dominic's coal black. The black meant it had been a while since they had fed, which Dominic had shown by almost attacking me the night before. When I mentioned this Dominic hung his head in shame and Edward shot him a cross look.

The details went on and on. They told me about their family, or coven as it was rightly called. I listened as they described each family member to me: Rosalie Hale, the blond beauty that Alice had muttered about earlier. Emmett Cullen, more like a bear in most cases but still charming in his own way. Jasper Hale, who played the part of Rosalie's twin brother to keep up their little farce at school, and who also had the ability to control emotions. Esme Cullen, sweet Esme, the mother to the children of the household. And Carlisle Cullen, who was a doctor and father to the Cullen family. Taking in all this was starting to make my head hurt, so much that I had to put a hand to my head to steady my thoughts.

"I think it is time for the two of you to go to bed."

I looked up with one eye open at Edward. He stood next to Alice now, his arms crossed while she had sat on the arm of the couch next to me. She tilted her head at me, seeming to be thinking of something.

"Edward," she said, not once looking away from my face. "I would like to try something."

Edward stiffened as he seemed to read her thoughts. "Alice, I'm not so sure that is the best idea right now," he said tersely.

She looked back at him for a moment as she sat next to me on the couch cushion. "Oh please, Edward. I want to see if it would work."

Rubbing his forehead, Edward closed his eyes in defeat. "Fine. But, if she shows any sign of pain, release her at once."

Alice nodded her head eagerly, taking my hands into her cold ones. She leaned forward and pressed her forehead to mine, whispering, "Relax, let it come to you."

I felt a push somewhere in my mind, and I started to resist it, but stopped when Alice squeezed my hands ever so slightly. It wasn't enough to hurt me, just to keep me from fighting it. So I let go, holding Alice's hands in mine as images swirled through my mind: The woods behind Charlie's house, the sense of running through the slick leaves and muck, of falling, but being picked back up by strong arms. Feeling the awareness of looking above, I saw a face. Ashy brown hair, eyes now golden, smiling down at me.

She broke contact there.

Blinking my eyes like it would help, I stared down at my hands. I looked up to see Alice smiling at me softly. I swear, if she could cry, right now looked as if the moment she would. But instead she said, "That is what I saw earlier. It was a little vague at first, but it seems your resolve is starting to take form. Keep it where nobody can take it away." She placed a cold finger to the center of my chest, right in the middle of my breastbone where my heart lay. "This is the perfect place." She smiled once more before standing, announcing her leave.

Once Alice was gone, Edward said that he would be needing to leave soon, that he had to ask Carlisle to look something up for him. Bella walked with him outside. That left me and Dominic alone in the living room. There was a sort of awkward silence as we just sat there, not looking at each other. But it was broken when he said, "I'm sorry for scaring you earlier."

I looked over and stared at him for a moment, forgetting what he meant until I recalled earlier. A blush spread over my face as I regarded my hands in my lap, a sort of subconsious way of embarrassment that I had picked up over the years. "Which time?" I joked, a small smile on my face as I glanced up at him through my lashes.

Dominic chuckled, shaking his head from side to side. "You have a point." He looked up at me now as he said, "Both times. I didn't realize that your blood would have the same effect on me as Bella's apparently does on Edward." For some reason he looked embarrassed as he said this, and I'm sure that if he could blush, his face probably would have been bright red.

A frown formed on my face as I pushed myself toward the end of the couch closest to Dominic. I twisted so that I landed on my stomach, resting my chin on my arms as I folded them across the couch arm. Staring at him seemed to make his embarrassment worse, and it was also something I was starting to enjoy. I grinned at him, relishing in it as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair. This made my hand itch, I wanted to see if his hair felt different than one would normally expect. But I also didn't want to take a large risk, and if his eyes were any indication, I probably shouldn't even be near him right now.

Nah. I hadn't really taken many risks since Tammie had been getting picked on, so it was kind of making me pine for the old days. God, this was probably going to hurt.

My hand shaking slightly, I reached out toward him. I had to use my other arm to help support my upper body as I leaned forward. But before my hand could even get close, Dominic seemed to disappear. This made me jump back, I was so startled. I looked wildly around the room, seeing him in the doorway with a hand on the doorjamb, as if to steady himself. He looked up at me, and there was something in his eyes that frightened me enough to where I crawled back to the edge of the couch, stammering out an apology.

He waved a hand at me, shaking his head. Mumbling something about needing to feed soon, he stumbled toward the stairs,and I heard a slight thump as he sat. I knew I shouldn't get up, but I just had to see if he was all right. So I stood slowly, tip toeing over to the hall doorway to peek out at him. As I looked, there he sat on the second step, his legs stretched out in front of him with his hands on his knees. He seemed to stop breathing when he saw me.

I plopped to the floor right outside the doorway, watching him as he seemed to calm. His shoulders visibly relaxed as he looked up at me, a small smile on his face as he said, "Sorry about that. You surprised me."

I had the nerve to feel embarrassed as I looked down for a moment, then glanced back up at him. "Sorry," I mumbled, tracing the hardwood floor sitting beneath my feet. There was the sound of slight footsteps as Dominic came to sit beside me, leaning against the wall, his legs crossed. His head bopped against the wall as he looked at me,that smile still there. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. I'll try and feed tomorrow or later tonight." He looked at me one more time. "But I'll stay until you fall asleep. How's that?"

This made me blush such a dark color that I was sure he could see it in the dim light shining from behind me. Sure enough, he let out a low chuckle. I glared at him and he immediately shut up. As I was about to say something, a yawn ripped the words from my mouth, and I covered my gaping jaw with the back of my hand.

"Seems like you should head to bed." I looked up at him as he lounged against the wall next to me. Raising an eyebrow at him in an answer, I couldn't help but squeeze my eyes shut as another yawn slipped up my throat. He laughed at me. "Like I said."

Taking his advice, regrettedly, I slipped into the livingroom to lay on the couch. It felt so inviting with its welcoming cushions taking shape to the form of my tired body, and I couldn't help but curl against the back of couch. I used to do this in my bed as a child, pulling my legs to my chest and pressing my forehead to the wall, almost like if I did this I could feel the workings of the house pulse through the plaster to my body.

But those days were gone, and I vaguely wondered if I'd get to see my childhood room again. Thoughts of myself and Tammie sharing a room drifted through my slowly slipping conscious, boys through windows, climbing down trees, mischievous bonfires late at night. This was all enough to make me close my eyes and cover my head with an arm, trying to block out all the pain. A sudden flop of cloth on my face startled me back into awareness.

Dominic laughed above me. I looked at him over my shoulder to see him grinning. "I washed the jacket. It was covered in leaves and a bit of mud, but it should be just fine."

It was true. The blue of the jacket was dirt- and muck-free, the fabric soft to the touch. But it smelt like degertant now. Disappointment rose like a wave inside me at this, I had been missing the smell of Dominic on the jacket. I snuggled with it over me anyway. It would be back by the time he started wearing it.

"Missing my scent already?"

I looked up at him sleepily, blinking slowly. Another yawn escaped as I rolled over onto my other side to face him, saying, "Maybe. Maybe not."

He smiled at me. "Don't worry, it'll be back soon."

It was like he was voicing my thoughts. This made me close my eyes and bury my nose into the softness of the jacket, hiding the smile forming my face. I could feel sleep starting to take over, so with one more yawn, I replied, "My sentiments exactly."

* * *

**A/N**: HALLELUJAH! I have no idea if that's spelled right xD But I don't care. This is the longest chapter I have written for any story EVER! I love it! XD

But with this chapter, I must say adieu. For now, it shall be complete. Well, until I feel like adding a chapter xD And that probably won't be for a while either lol

Bye for now (^_^)/


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